’Kingdom Key Fragment? What on earth is that?’

I wondered as I stared at the heavy golden key resting in my palm. The surface was etched with tiny, intricate carvings that seemed to shift slightly under the water.

And then there was that other notification.

[Hidden Main Storyline Unlocked]

[Requirements for Next Fragment Updated]

A deep frown formed beneath my paper bag mask.

This was completely unexpected. I had read this part of the story front to back, analyzing every single Chapter, every hidden piece of information, and every single reward this Gate gave.

Yet, there had never been any mention of a ’Kingdom Key’ or a ’Hidden Main Storyline’ inside this particular Gate. In the text, the protagonist simply cleared the Gate, took what he needed, and left.

This was something entirely new.

’Did my presence alter the rewards?’

Whatever the reason was, I knew for a fact that it wouldn’t be useless. Anything labeled as a ’Hidden Main Storyline’ was bound to become incredibly valuable later on.

Before I could study the key any further, a sudden rush of water from my left caught my attention.

"Brian!"

Vera called out. Her movement was so fast it left a trail of bubbles in the water. Her hands were trembling, and even though her face was hidden behind the mask I had just put back on her, I could practically feel the panic and fury radiating from her body.

Thump! Thump!

She began hitting my chest with quick, frantic jabs. Her fists didn’t carry much strength; they were soft and somewhat weak.

"Why did you do that?!" she cried out as she kept hitting me. "Why did you step in front of me?! You are bleeding! You got hurt because of me!"

She was staring directly at my jaw, where a deep crimson line of blood was still drifting into the blue water from the cut Trion had given me. Her hands moved up from my chest to grab the edges of my torn paper bag mask with her trembling fingers.

"You told me to wait! You told me you had it under control!" she continued. "But you almost died! If that strike had been a few inches closer... if you had been a second slower... Don’t ever do that again! Don’t put yourself in danger in front of me!"

Seeing her like this, completely breaking down over a small cut on my jaw, made a wave of warmth wash through me. This terrifying girl, who could literally snap C-Rank monsters without blinking, was currently losing her mind over a drop of my blood.

I didn’t say anything at first. Slowly, I reached out and wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her small body firmly against my chest.

"Hey," I whispered right against her mask while keeping my voice soft and comforting. "Calm down. I am perfectly fine."

Vera froze the moment my arms locked around her. Her jabbing stopped instantly, and she buried her head deep into my shoulder as her fingers clutched the fabric of my shirt.

"He couldn’t kill me even if he tried, since he was already weakened too much," I murmured and gently patted the back of her head. "I knew exactly what I was doing. See? I am completely safe. The cut is already closing up."

"But you bled..." she whispered against my shoulder, and her grip tightened even more. "I don’t like it when you bleed. My job is to protect you."

"And you did a great job," I replied. "Now, just relax. The fight is over."

While we were holding each other in the middle of the ruined palace hall, the remaining Hunters just stood a few meters away, completely frozen. Their eyes were wide, and their mouths were slightly open as they stared at the sudden, bizarre display of affection.

To them, we were still two mysterious, terrifying high-ranked Hunters who had defeated a Gate boss.

Seeing the woman who had treated the Swamp Behemoth like nothing suddenly turn into a crying little girl in my arms was causing their brains to freeze.

"Are... are they seriously hugging right now?" the archer whispered. "She just broke the final boss’s ribs with a single kick, and now she’s acting like a worried housewife?"

"Shut up," Seok snapped in a low tone, though his own eyes were filled with deep respect and awe as he looked at us. "They just saved our lives. If they want to hug, let them hug. Besides... the boy didn’t even flinch when his mask got torn. He executed the boss with zero hesitation. They are on a completely different level than us."

"Yeah," the shield-bearer from the couple added, "he didn’t fight at the beginning because he was testing the boss. He literally let his woman fight the boss just so he could study its weak points. That is the confidence of a true predator."

Hearing their whispers, I almost snickered again. They were still filling in the blanks with their own wild imaginations. I let them think whatever they wanted. It was much better this way because it was making me feel so much better.

’Seriously, wearing a mask is so much better.’

After a few moments, Seok slowly swam a few steps closer through the water. He adjusted his glasses and looked at the dead body of Trion resting on the tiles.

"Brian," Seok called out in a respectful tone. "Should we go back to the surface now? The Gate exit must have opened by now."

Hearing him, I slowly let go of Vera and turned around to face Seok.

"Yeah, we will leave," I said. "But we have to wait a bit."

"Wait?" the archer chimed in as his eyes darted toward the crumbling ceiling. "Why wait? The boss is dead! This place could collapse at any second! We should get out of here as fast as possible!"

"Just a little bit."

Saying that, I looked down at Trion’s corpse.

I reached down and gripped the hilt of my dagger, which had fallen beside the prince’s body. With a swift movement, I dragged the blade downward across his body and sliced open his upper chest.

I reached my hand directly into the wound, and my fingers wrapped around an ice-cold object. When I pulled my hand back out, I was holding a pitch-black stone.

The moment my skin made contact with the stone, a familiar system screen flashed right in front of my eyes.

[Compatible Trait Extraction Material Detected! Do you want to consume it now?]

[Yes / No]

’No,’ I answered in my mind.